Toward a multiracial feminist framework for understanding females’ gang involvement

Despite growing interest in the gang involvement of girls and young women, tools with which to understand the experiences leading them to gangs remain fragmented. This article draws from existing gang theories and research on gendered pathways to illustrate the utility of a unified conceptual framew...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Peterson, Dana (Author) ; Panfil, Vanessa R. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: [2017]
In: Journal of crime and justice
Year: 2017, Volume: 40, Issue: 3, Pages: 337-357
Online Access: Volltext (Resolving-System)
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Keywords:
Females
Agency
Conceptual Framework
Gang
Gender
Identity
Intersectionality
Life-course
Multiracial feminism
Theory
Description
Summary:Despite growing interest in the gang involvement of girls and young women, tools with which to understand the experiences leading them to gangs remain fragmented. This article draws from existing gang theories and research on gendered pathways to illustrate the utility of a unified conceptual framework, particularly, one grounded in multiracial feminism. We explain what the primary components of such an integrated, life-course framework should be. Specifically, our framework attempts to account for multi-level influences: macro-level interlocking systems of inequality such as racialization and heteronormativity; interpersonal interactions in meso-level proximal spheres such as neighborhoods, families, schools, and peer groups; and micro-level processes of situated action, such as identity negotiation and agency within the context of constrained choice. We argue that our proposed conceptual framework will allow for more nuanced and complex understandings of females’ gang involvement.
ISSN:2158-9119
DOI:10.1080/0735648X.2017.1341970